Josh Rodriguez

Rodriguez came into the season as one of college baseball's best shortstop prospects, but he has been supplanted there at Rice by sophomore Brian Friday. Rodriguez had elbow problems that bothered him during fall practice and early in the spring, so he opened the season as a DH and since has moved to third base. He has played second, third and short in three years at Rice, and his arm is a plus at any position. He's a slightly below-average runner, however, so he'll have to move to second or third as a pro. He's a streak hitter with gap power, and he has a penchant for drawing walks. Rodriguez hit .326 with wood last summer for Team USA, the highest average among 2006 draft-eligibles on the club. There's talk that a couple of teams could take him in the second or third round, but he's more of a consensus fifth-rounder.